Yoon Gun-young: "The Shutdown of Wolsong Unit 1 Is the People's Order... The Prosecution and Board of Audit Seriously Crossed the Line"

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who served as the head of the National Planning Situation Office at the Blue House under the Moon Jae-in administration, issued a warning, stating, "It was the people who ordered the closure of Wolseong Unit 1 through the election of candidate Moon Jae-in."

On the 14th, Yoon said on Facebook, "The closure of Wolseong Unit 1 was a campaign promise in the 19th presidential election and a policy that received public support through the election."

He argued, "It is the very principle of democracy that a government chosen by the people keeps its promises, yet the Board of Audit and Inspection and investigative agencies are threatening this principle."

He added, "Audits and investigations are certainly possible regarding errors in the policy implementation process, such as document destruction or administrative mistakes. However, the closure of Wolseong Unit 1 itself cannot be the subject of audits or investigations. This is a dangerous act that undermines the election system."

He continued, "According to the basic principles of democracy, the closure of Wolseong Unit 1 was decided through the election," and raised his voice, saying, "In this situation, auditing or investigating the early closure policy of Wolseong Unit 1 itself is a direct challenge to democracy."

Yoon criticized the prosecution's large-scale raids related to the disposal of Wolseong Unit 1, saying, "They have seriously crossed the line." He also added, "The head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, who talks about 'criminal probability' regarding the policy-making process, is no different. It seems they do not understand the basics of democracy."

Finally, he emphasized, "We must not deny the fundamentals of representative democracy through elections. All power in the Republic of Korea comes from the people," and stated, "The Moon Jae-in government was a government chosen by the people."

Meanwhile, on the 20th of last month, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that the government had downplayed the economic feasibility evaluation of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 in 2018 and deleted 444 documents, including Blue House briefing materials. Subsequently, on the 5th, the prosecution launched a large-scale raid involving dozens of prosecutors and investigators at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the Ministry of Industry, and the headquarters of Korea Gas Corporation, initiating a forced investigation.